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Huntsville’s Lowe Mill: From textiles to jungle boots to art
By Tom Adkinson
April 15, 2022
Huntsville's Lowe Mill; Image by Tom Adkinson |
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Lowe Mill is a massive complex of hulking red brick industrial buildings whose appearance belies its current incarnation. It opened in 1901 as a textile factory, shifted into warehousing, became a shoe factory (the source of jungle boots for the Vietnam War), returned to warehousing and only then morphed into the home of 150 studios where 200 artists demonstrate their creativity.
A leftover water tower is the landmark that guides you to Lowe Mill. Once there, wander the hallways and climb the stairs to find high-ceilinged studios filled with painters, fashion designers, ceramic artists, jewelry makers, glassmakers, photographers, sculptors, printmakers, woodworkers and more. One ceramic studio has a two-hour class if you want to create your own art.
Danny Davis of Tangled Strings. Image by Tom Adkinson |
Tangled Strings Studios is one of the more unusual Lowe Mill businesses. It’s a guitar shop where guitars are both sold and made. There’s a small stage, so you may chance into a performance, and you’ll usually find owner and guitar maker Danny Davis for some good conversation. Ask about his soul-satisfying transition from mechanical engineer in Huntsville’s space industry to the maker of intricate custom-ordered musical instruments.
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